Open Gurus | Overview ____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Are you ready
to raise the bar?
Ready to witness a
performance from
your PC that you’d
not seen in years?
Then tighten your seat
belt, grab a chilled
drink and get ready
to exhaust the tower
with the monstrous
benchmarks!
54 | NOVEMBER 2009 | LINUX For You | www.LinuxForU.com
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
M
ost PCs today—i.e., if you own a processor like
the AMD Athlon (90/65nm) or Core 2 Duo and
above—come with decent headroom to increase
performance. The question is: have you ever
considered pushing the limits?
If so, tighten your seat belt, because in this article we
will not only learn about torturing the hardware, but also
unravel the facts about overclocking your hardware and the
status of benchmarking in Linux.
Note: Overclocking is raising the clock speed of the
processor from the factory settings. Benchmarking, on
the other hand, is an assessment test to measure the
capacity of the hardware at your disposal.
Some of you must be mulling over what Linux has to
do with overclocking? Well, yes, the operating system has
very little to do with overclocking. But when you pump
up the speed of your system, then various things need to
be considered. The operating system chips in by offering
various monitoring tools and other requisites.
Note that this tutorial will only guide you with the
basics of overclocking. Since it's a very vast topic, and
the overclocking options vary from motherboard to
motherboard and the BIOSs they come with, more details
are out of scope of this article.
Statutory warning: Overclocking is fun to begin
with, but reckless decisions can bring your whole
system down. The author and the publisher will not be
responsible for any damage caused, and what's worse is
that afterwards, you will not be covered by the product
warranty either. So, you'll need to remember one thing—
slow and steady wins the race.
The only precautionary measure is not to take
hasty decisions—stay calm, and nothing will go wrong.
The fact is, overclocking is highly addictive, so beware
and don't let your excitement overtake you. Because
once you get overexcited, you will surely end up doing
something wrong.
Now that we're done with the warnings and introductory
notes, let’s move on. Overclocking requires a few tools and
utilities as well. But for what, you may ask? As I mentioned
earlier, overclocking needs to be done through the BIOS. Yes,
the best and rudimentary way to overclock is from BIOS.
However, once you have overclocked the system, there are
several factors that need to be dealt with.
The most important is the temperature. Temperature
plays a vital role in the life of silicon. All the diodes/chips/
processors are made using silicon, so the temperature must
be kept under control. We will get to know more about it
later. But before that we need some software to monitor
certain things for us.
Overview | Open Gurus
Unfortunately, the software potpourri isn't as diverse
as that of Windows, but still, there is a decent amount of
benchmarking and monitoring software available for Linux.
In this article we will take a look at the following:
1. Hardinfo: A one-stop shop for all the monitoring
utilities in Linux
2. Phoronix Text Suite: Undoubtedly, a vast and the most
popular benchmarking suite for Linux
3. Geekbench: Another cross-platform benching program
4. Prime95B: A CPU stress-testing program
The test set-up used for overclocking and benchmarking
is described below:
 AMD Phenom II Dual Core X2 550 Black Edition
processor (unlocked to Phenom II Quad Core X4 B50),
with 45nm fabrication and socket AM3
 Jetway Ha07 790GX AM2+ motherboard
 Transcend DDR2 800 MHz 4GB kit @ 5-5-5-15/dual
channel
 Western Digital 640AAKS Blue Edition hard disk drive
 Prolimatech Megahalems + Scythe Sflex 120mm 75cfm
fan (CPU heat sink and fan)
 Corsair VX450 SMPS | open air system
 Operating systems: Ubuntu 9.04 64-bit and Mandriva
2009.1 32-bit
Benchmarking your PC
Before we get started, we should know about the types of
benchmarking. There are many benchmarking applications
and methods to test the system. These are generally
segregated into the following two categories:
1. Real-world benchmarking: All benchmarking of real
tests such as FPS ( frames per second) in games, the time
to compile software/the kernel, the encoding/decoding
time of media files, etc, fall under this category. This is
perhaps a more practical way to judge a PC's calibre.
Most benchmarking software don't cater to real-world
benchmarking; thus, these tests are done by using the
computer on a daily basis.
2. Synthetic benchmarking: All software and tests
designed to appraise the system potential are termed
as synthetic benchmarking software. These are good
to obtain quick results, and one doesn't need to waste
much time running tests, one by one. However, some
of the software tends to favour certain brands and
products. For example, the Super PI test favours Intel
processors while the AES benchmarking favours AMD
processors. Thus, these are not always the premier
solution to judge a PC's potential.
Hardinfo
Sleuth tools let you obtain crucial information about
your hardware. These tools not only provide valuable
information but also prove to be viable alternatives to digital
multimeters and power calculators. Unfortunately, there
aren't many alternatives available on the Linux platform,
and this is where Hardinfo chips in to provide the perfect
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Open Gurus | Overview ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Figure 1: Hardinfo Benchmark
blend between a hardware listing and a
decent benchmarking tool.
Hardinfo [http://hardinfo.berlios.
de/HomePage] delivers precise details
about the hardware installed and the
connected devices atop an easy-touse GUI. The website claims that the
tool “…can gather information about
your system's hardware and operating
system, perform benchmarks, and
generate printable reports either in
HTML or in plain text formats.”
The app's interface is segregated
into two columns. The left column
serves as the navigation bar that
consists of a plethora of hardware
categories, which are further divided
into relevant entries. The section on
the right side is the overview panel
that displays some information
about the entries you select from the
navigation panel. When you select
an entry, a new panel is created to
show detailed information about the
selected item.
Apart from its hardware listing
capabilities, Hardinfo provides a
handful of benchmarking tests to
put your system through rigorous
exercises. The default installation
doesn't come with much data on the
benchmarking front to compare your
system with other hardware. However,
you can easily sync with the online
database (click Information→Network
Updater). Updating the database adds
the data of the computers that have
been tested.
Sharing data online and then
syncing the software is really a great
idea and lets you easily compare
Figure 2: Hardinfo Default Looks
your system’s potential with others.
I advise you to sync the system with
the online service, once. This not only
increases the size of the hardware
database, but is beneficial for others as
well. Hardinfo also provides a Report
Generator. This handy plug-in allows
you to generate system information
along with benchmarking results,
either in HTML or plain test format.
This information about the system
will provide a verbose report covering
the X server, the Linux distribution,
hot-swappable devices, network
information and lots more. It even
displays the temperature using the
system diode; however, I found that
to be faulty—my motherboard LED
indicator displayed a significantly
lower temperature than that of
Hardinfo.
Nevertheless, there are still many
things missing from the elusive
Hardinfo. Shortcomings include the
missing voltage meter, dynamic speed
reader, and many more. A dearth
of these components is surely a big
setback for any hardware listing tool,
Figure 3: PTS System Overview
56 | NOVEMBER 2009 | LINUX For You | www.LinuxForU.com
and without these tools one cannot
make proper judgements while
overclocking.
The Phoronix Test Suite
Phoronix Media, one of the most
popular and reliable sources for Linux
news and reviews, presented the
first benchmarking test suite—the
Phoronix Test Suite (PTS). Phoronix
regularly publishes hardware/Linux
benchmarking reviews using PTS,
which throw some light on what PTS
is capable of doing. Initially restricted
to the CLI, PTS goes through massive
transitions from release to release.
It has now jumped onto the GUI
bandwagon, loaded with an easyto-use GUI. It comes with support
for almost all distributions and is
available in the repositories of many
distributions.
I'd say Phoronix takes
benchmarking to a whole new
level, being the only one of its kind
that provides users the option of
‘live benchmarking’ (thanks to the
availability of an Ubuntu-based live
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
DVD). So all you need is a system with a DVD drive to enjoy
the test suite.
Installing it is very easy and you can do so by using
your system repositories or the executables provided at
the project website. PTS actually acts as a wrapper for
many open source/proprietary software that are available
off-the-shelf.
By default, PTS doesn't come with a single benchmarking
utility installed; rather, it provides an option to install them
the way you want. In order to get the most out of PTS, you
have to install the tests, one by one. Some tests are as huge
as 700 MB, and thus installation can be a bother. It would
be much better if Phoronix additionally allowed users to
install multiple tests in a single click, with options like ‘Tests
for Processors’, ‘Tests for the GPU’, and so on. The pack
must consist of a handful of relevant tests that fall under the
particular category the user is interested in.
Phoronix allows users to easily upload their results to
Phoronix Global. This is a portal where you can view your
results (the same way you view them offline), and from
where you can make comparisons with others. In fact, the
application itself prompts you to compare the result with
the tests that Phoronix developers have uploaded. A very
nice approach that does away with the hassle of searching
for the test results to compare with your outcome.
Phoronix also provides a small system ‘overviewer’ that
keeps you informed about hardware, software and sensors.
Things are very neatly arranged in their proper categories. It
even allows you to copy all the data to clipboards and then
share them easily. However, in my case, it failed to detect the
IGP (on-board graphics) speed. The system memory usage
data was displayed incorrectly as well.
The downside of PTS is that there is no notification
whatsoever while installing and running tests. Once you
initiate the process, the PTS window will vanish and the
user has no idea of what's happening in the background.
Even though it was mentioned that support with Ubuntu
notification has been added, it didn’t work in Ubuntu 9.04
64-bit. Instead, a simple status message on the PTS window
should have sufficed.
Geekbench
Geekbench is another efficient benchmarking software for
Linux. Despite claiming to be cross-platform software, it
only provides a GUI for Windows and Mac, leaving Linux
Overview | Open Gurus
with a CLI offering. Nonetheless, the application offers a
complete benchmarking solution capable of wrenching the
most out of your CPU and memory.
The Linux version is an easy to execute binary file that
runs from the terminal. After executing it, the benchmarking
will commence and automatically complete all the tests.
In the end, it will ask you to submit the data, online. If you
have a working Internet connection, you can easily submit
the data and add it to your profile (if you have an account).
Pretty nifty indeed!
The online score browser displays scores in coloured
charts—this is where you can compare your scores as well.
Unlike other benchmarking software, this one gives an
overall score to the system providing a rough idea of what
the system is capable of.
Compared to the other two benchmarking utilities
mentioned, Geekbench is not an open source application,
although the developers have open sourced the detection
engine (geekinfo) under the MIT licence. The detection
engine seems to be flaky—it fails to detect my motherboard
manufacturer and model. Apart from that, it failed to even
detect the operating system used. It only showed the kernel
under use instead of the distro. Since Geekbench developers
want you to buy the software, they have restricted the
availability of the 64-bit executable.
One of the biggest drawbacks was the overall
inconsistency in scores. I tested Geekbench in all the
supported OSs, namely OSX, Windows and several
distributions, keeping the hardware intact across every
OS. Initially developed for Mac OS, Geekbench still favours
that OS by delivering the highest scores on it. The claims of
providing an OS-neutral benchmarking engine seem hollow,
and the statements are contradictory to the scores.
Benefits of benchmarking
Many of you must be muttering about all this information
on benchmarking. Why waste resources? Why go through
such trouble and waste time just for a few numbers? Well,
because benchmarking is the easiest way to gauge your
system. Today, all system components—be it the CPU,
memory, hard drive, graphics adapters, power supply, etc—are
thoroughly benchmarked and tested, and then, accordingly,
manufacturers rank them by price and performance.
Benchmarking creates a sense of judgement among
users. It keeps you updated about the potential of
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Open Gurus | Overview ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jargon Buster
 Clock speed: This is the speed at which your processor
runs under factory settings, and is calculated in Gigahertz
(GHz) or Megahertz (MHz). The clock speed is generally
obtained from the product of FSB/HTT/BCLK and CPU
multiplier. Note that whether it’s FSB, HTT or BCLK depends
on the type of processor you own.
 FSB (Front Side Bus): This acts as a main bus speed
for the processor, RAM, northbridge and southbridge. The
FSB lies in the motherboard and has a memory controller
alongside it.
 HTT (Hyper Transport Technology): This is the new
generation of FSBs that are used by AMD processors. HTT
is nothing but the FSB, excluding a memory controller. In
AMD processors, the memory controller lies inside the
processor, and that provides more flexibility throughout; as
a result, AMD processors support multiple memory types.
For example, Phenom II, Athlon II and Sempron 140 (i.e.,
the 45nm series of AMD processors) have multiple memory
controllers within, allowing them to use either DDR2 or
DDR3 at a time.
 BCLK (Base Clock): This is a refined FSB that has been
developed for Intel processors and debuted with the Core
i7 series of processors. The BCLK is nothing but AMD's
HTT. The processor comes with the memory controller.
Previously, all Intel processors— Pentium, Core2Duo, or
Core2Quad—had the FSB, which limited their memory
handling capabilities. With Core i7, Intel has now a memory
controller merged within the CPU itself and with triple
channel support providing humongous bandwidth.
 CPU multiplier: As mentioned earlier, this value when
multiplied with the FSB/HTT/BCLK, gives the processor's
clock speed. And since the Special Edition processors
have the multiplier unlocked, they allow processor
overclocking. Thus, you don't have to tinker with the
FSB/HTT/BCLK if you have a Special Edition processor.
However, you are even free to take the FSB/HTT/BCLK
route if you want.
your hardware. You can check
benchmarking journals to keep
yourself updated with all the reviews
of the new hardware flowing into the
market. Whatever said and done, it is a
perfect option to test your hardware.
Amplify speed by
overclocking hardware
Overclocking is like losing weight—
the initial results come very fast,
but the last pounds (read MHz) take
some real effort.
 Integrated memory controller: This determines the
speed, type, channel and the amount of memory that can be
installed in the system. With new processors, the memory
controller is now merged into the processor. As a result,
you don't have to change the processor in order to utilise
newer and faster memory, if supported. For example, the
new 45nm Phenom II from AMD comes with a dual memory
controller allowing you to use either DDR2 or DDR3. So you
can put the processor in an AM2+ board and use DDR2, or
in an AM3 board to use DDR3. This gives a wide spectrum
of options to users either to opt for the high-performance
DDR3 or the value for money DDR2. As a result of multichannel memory, motherboard manufacturers release
hybrid boards with both DDR2 and DDR3 slots. So all you
need to do is buy one board and RAM of your choice. If,
in future, you want to make the transition from DDR2 to
DDR3, then you don't have to buy a new motherboard.
This contrasts with processors like Intel Core2Duo or the
Pentium series, which had the memory controller on board.
Thus, in order to get a higher performance RAM, you need
to change the motherboard, which adds to costs.
 CPU core voltage (VCORE): In order to gain a stable
clock speed (which works 24x7 under a full load, without
any problem) we need to increase the voltage applied to
the processor. By applying more voltage, we give more
power to operate. More power generates more heat, and
thus we must opt for a good after-market CPU cooler if you
are aiming for higher clocks.
 Memory speed: Once you overclock your system by
tinkering with the FSB, HTT, or BCLK, you substantially
overclock other components as well. All the other
components like memory, northbridge and southbridge,
thrive on FSB, HTT or BCLK for their own clock speeds.
So once you change the relevant BUS, you overclock the
whole system. Memory is affected as well. Memory speed
is determined by the product of FSB/HTT/BCLK and the
memory multiplier. Note that just like the CPU multiplier,
memory too has its own multiplier.
Almost all the hardware
components can be overclocked. This
is due to the fact that most of the
components are interlinked and work
in synchronisation. Since this requires
tweaking the system above the factory
settings, it means increasing the power
consumption, heat dissipation and
many other factors. So before we get
started, here are the mandatory things
that need to be dealt with:
1. Exterminating dust:
Accumulation of dust decreases
58 | NOVEMBER 2009 | LINUX For You | www.LinuxForU.com
a component's life span and
performance, while decreasing
the heat dissipation. Dust traps
the heat and does not allow it
to dissipate properly. It is very
important to keep the dust away.
So, open the cabinet and clean all
components. Cleaning reduces
noise, components run cool and
hence their performance increases,
significantly increasing headroom
for overclocking. Make sure you are
properly grounded, else the static
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
electricity from your body can
damage the hardware components.
2. Airflow: Airflow plays a vital part
in overclocking. A good airflow can
decrease temperature drastically
while bad/misaligned airflow
can be fatal. Cabinets now come
with at least two fans—one intake
( front) and one exhaust (back).
Usually, 120mm fans are preferred.
Airflow is generally measured in
CFM (cubic feet/metre). The more
the CFM, the better the fan and
its airflow. Few of the good brands
are Scythe, Silverstone, Xigmatek,
Antec, etc.
3. Thermal compounds: Also
known as thermal pastes, thermal
compounds are an important
factor in cooling CPUs and GPUs.
They transfer heat to the heat
sink. A good thermal compound
can reduce temperatures by
2-5 degrees Celsius. Some of the
known brands are Arctic Cooling,
Tuniq, etc.
4. Cable management: Messy
cables inside the PC can hinder
airflow, thus increasing the
temperature. Cables hovering over
the components can suffocate
them resulting in their failure.
So it’s better to tie them, keeping
them aside and away from the
components' blowing/intake vents.
You can use el cheapo cable ties to
get the best results. If you want a
permanent solution, cable covers
and management kits are available
off-the-shelf.
Warning: Although this guide
encourages you to experiment with
overclocking, I highly condemn
the practice with laptops and
desktops loaded with Pentium 4
(any generation) or Pentium D.
These components usually run very
hot and overclocking can result in
system fiasco.
As I’ve mentioned earlier,
overclocking is a vast topic, but in
this article, we will only focus on
CPU overclocking and not consider
GPUs due to the dearth of mature
Overview | Open Gurus
After-market heat sinks
Most hardware components suffer from the repercussions of overheating and
other thermal catastrophes because of heat generation. Therefore we use heat
sinks which helps in absorbing heat and keep the temperature from rising above
safe levels.
To attain a higher CPU clock speed with well-controlled temperature, many
companies offer after-market coolers. Most of the manufacturers allow high
scalability by providing compatibility across all sockets of AMD and Intel.
Therefore, even if you change the platform in future, you can continue to use
the cooler, if compatible, or can increase the compatibility by spending on the
mounting kit, if provided. Some of the top brands in the market are Thermalright,
Prolimatech, Scythe, Artic Cooler, Coolermaster, etc.
If you intend to buy a cooler, then here is the list of some coolers that you can
get for varying budgets:
 Rs 1000-1,400: OCZ Vanquishes 120mm (comes with fan installed)
 Rs 1,500-2,000: Thermalright Ultima 90 (doesn't include a fan) | Coolermast
Hyper TX2 Super (comes with fan)
 Rs 2,000-2,500: Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer 120mm | OCZ Vendatta 2
(both include a fan)
 Rs 3,000 and above: Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120mm | Prolimatech
Megahalems (both don't come with a fan)
overclocking software for them.
CPU overclocking varies from
processor to processor. Intel and AMD
follow different approaches towards
overclocking. To make things a little
more complicated, CPU manufacturers
opt for new terminology, which is often
nothing more than a gimmick. Things
are not as different as they seem.
There are generally multiple
ways to overclock—manufacturers
provide many options to boost speed.
Generally, there are two types of
processors available in the market: one
with the locked multiplier (refer to the
sidebox titled “Jargon buster”) and the
other is with an unlocked multiplier.
Processors with unlocked multipliers
fall into a special category and are
often termed as ‘Special Editions’. Intel
uses the term Extreme Edition and
AMD's offerings are known as Black
Editions.
Both these special edition
processors are cherry-picked, and have
the best die and unlocked multipliers
in them. As usual, they come with a
premium in price. Thankfully, AMD's
Black Edition won't burn a hole in your
pocket and a dual core is available for
under Rs 6000. On the other hand, you
will have to spend around Rs 50,000 for
Intel's Extreme Editions. Yes, that's half
a lakh for only a processor.
Take a look at the box to become
familiar with some of the jargon used
in relation to CPUs.
So once you have gained
some knowledge about the basic
terminology used while overclocking,
it’s time to overclock the system.
Generally, the preferred way to
overclock the system is by tweaking
the BIOS settings. Refer to your
motherboard manual for precise
information—different motherboard
manufacturers have different BIOS
menu structures.
We will start by disabling some
energy efficient technologies that
chip giants have actuated in the chips
themselves. Here is the list of options
that need to be disabled:
 AMD Cool n' Quiet: This is a
power-saving technology that
lowers the CPU clock speed and
voltage when the processor is
idle. This keeps the CPU from
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Open Gurus | Overview ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
System buying guide
Here is a list of systems with fairly decent overclocking headroom:
Budget System, around Rs 15,000








AMD Athlon II X2 250..........................................................................Rs 4,000
Biostar A785GW – (ATI HD4200 Integrated Graphics)...........................Rs 3,200
Transcend 2GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM...................................................Rs 1,200
Western Digital 320 GB Sata2 Hard Disk.............................................Rs 2,200
Samsung/LG DVD Writer......................................................................Rs 1,200
Gigabyte Superb 460W SMPS.............................................................Rs 2,200
Zebronics Bijli.....................................................................................Rs 1,200
OCZ Vanquishes AMD Edition (Optional)...............................................Rs 1,200
Total........................................................................................ Rs 16,400
Mid End System, around Rs 20,000-27,000









AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition..................................................Rs 4,900
Biostar T790GXBE...............................................................................Rs 4,400
4GB Gskill PI Black DDR2 800 MHz RAM.............................................Rs 3,400
Western Digital 1TB Green Hard Disk...................................................Rs 4,200
Samsung/LG/Lite On DVD Writer..........................................................Rs 1,200
Corsair CX400 | Seasonics 380W SMPS..............................................Rs 3,200
Antec 300 Cabinet...............................................................................Rs 3,400
Thermalright Ultima 90.......................................................................Rs 1,900
Scythe Sflex 65cfm 120mm fan.............................................................Rs 500
Total:....................................................................................... Rs 27,100
Mid End System Alternatives
 AMD Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core...................................Rs 5,500
 Coolermaster CM590 Cabinet.......................................Rs 3,800
 ATI HD4850 | nvidia GTS 250 (512MB) VGA adapter.....Rs 7,000
Mid-High End AMD System










AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition................................................Rs 11,000
MSI GDFX-70......................................................................................Rs 9,500
OCZ AMD Black Edition Memory 4GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM............. ~Rs 6,000
Western Digital 1TB Black Edition Hard drive.......................................Rs 5,400
nvidia GTX 260.................................................................~Rs 10,000-11,000
Samsung/LG/Lite On DVD Writer..........................................................Rs 1,200
Corsair TX650 | HX620 (modular) SMPS....................... ~Rs 6,500 | ~Rs 8,000
Lancool PCK62 Cabinet.......................................................................Rs 7,000
Thermalright Ultra Extreme Black........................................................Rs 3,400
Sycthe Sflex 75Cfm 120mm...................................................................Rs 500
Total:....................................................................................... Rs 60,500
Continued on next page…
60 | NOVEMBER 2009 | LINUX For You | www.LinuxForU.com
heating up uselessly and reduces
the electricity consumption. In the
course of overclocking, we will be
disabling CnQ if you have an AMD
processor.
 AMD C1E: AMD C1E is a power
management feature that suspends
the system once it is idle.
 Intel SpeedStep: Intel SpeedStep
is similar to AMD CnQ. Likewise,
it reduces the system’s power
consumption by lowering the
processor speed, when not in use.
Once you have disabled all
the energy efficient techniques,
it's time to start our business.
Overclocking generally depends
on the motherboard's capacity
and capabilities; the better the
motherboard, the better the processor
will overclock. Of course, you need a
capable processor, nonetheless.
To begin with, head on to the
overclocking section of your BIOS
(refer to the BIOS manual to locate
this) and increase the FSB/HTT/BCLK
by 2-5. If you have a special edition
processor, then increase the multiplier
by 1 from the default and save it.
Return to Linux, and run the stresstesting program (we will learn about
this later). If you have no errors or
system performance issues, it means
you have attained a stable overclock.
Slowly and steadily, increase the value
until you get to the point where the
system stops responding. Kindly note,
we have not yet increased the voltage
of the system.
Once you have reached the limit,
it’s time to increase the voltage. A
word of caution: Do not escalate the
voltage value or you might end up with
a fried CPU! Start by increasing from
0.05V and then continue increasing
the BUS speed/multiplier till you get
the maximum stable speed. Note: do
not increase the voltage if you're using
the factory shipped heat sink to cool
the processor. Those cooling solutions
are barely enough to cool the factoryshipped system, and increasing voltage
on the default cooler might result in
a dead processor. See the box titled
‘After-market heat sinks’ to get an idea
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
of the range of coolers that you might
consider.
For a 65nm/45nm processor, you
should aim for at least a 300-400 MHz
stable overclock on stock cooling,
while people with good cooling should
aim for 600 MHz or even 1GHz.
Once you have attained a stable
clock, keep it running 24x7 and
notice the temperature while stresstesting; make sure it doesn't cross the
maximum temperature allotted by the
CPU manufacturer.
Stress testing/Prime95
Prime95 is the only efficient stresstesting program available for Linux,
although the Linux version doesn't
have a GUI. This test stresses the
components and thus reveals any
frailty. A stress-testing program
stresses the CPU by upping the load
to 100 per cent of the CPU cores. The
processor will thus be overworked
and the temperature will rise. If
the overclock attained is unstable,
the system might restart or stop
responding while stress testing. This is
a great way to check the stability of the
system after overclocking.
Factors that affect overclocking
Even if you are well versed with the
overclocking techniques, there is no
guarantee that you will get the same
results. Overclocking depends and
varies with situations and the types of
hardware components you use. So, I’d
recommend extensive research before
buying any of these components.
Let’s take a quick look at what
we should focus on before buying
our hardware. Note that the dealers,
most of the time, are uninformed
and often have vested interests when
they promote a product. So, do your
homework on hardware peripherals
before you buy them.
Conclusion
The benchmarking scenario is
slowly and steadily improving in
Linux. However, the clear lack of
software potpourri does hurt. None
of the programs tested provide an
unblemished experience. For starters,
Overview | Open Gurus
System buying guide
Continued from previous page…
Mid-High End Intel System

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
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Intel Core i5 750 (LGA 1156).............................................................Rs 11,000
Gigabyte P55 UD3R...........................................................................Rs 13,000
Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM......................................... ~Rs 6,500
Western Digital 1TB Black Edition Hard drive.......................................Rs 5,400
nvidia GTX 260.................................................................~Rs 10,000-11,000
Samsung/LG/Lite On DVD Writer..........................................................Rs 1,200
Corsair TX650 | HX620 (modular) SMPS........................ ~Rs 6,500 | ~Rs 8,000
Lancool PCK62 Cabinet.......................................................................Rs 7,000
Prolimatech Megahalem + LGA1156 Mounting Bracket.................... ~Rs 4,200
Scythe Sflex 75cfm 120mm...................................................................Rs 500
Total: (with HX620 SMPS)........................................... Rs 65,300 | Rs 66,800
Mid-High End Alternatives
 ATI Radeon HD4890................................................. ~Rs 10,000
 AMD – AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition...............Rs 13,000
 Intel – Intel Core i7 860................................. Rs 14,000-15,000
High End System
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Intel Core i7 920 (LGA1366)..............................................................Rs 15,000
Gigabyte EAX58 UD5p.......................................................................Rs 18,000
Corsair XMS3 6GB DDR3 1333 Triple Channel RAM.............................Rs 9,000
Western Digital 1Tb Black Edition Hard Drive x2................................Rs 11,000
ATI HD5850.......................................................................................Rs 17,000
Samsung/LG/Lite On DVD Writer..........................................................Rs 1,200
Corsair TX750W SMPS........................................................................Rs 9,000
Lian Li A71F Cabinet.........................................................................Rs 16,000
Prolimatech Megahalem................................................................... ~Rs 3,500
Scythe Sflex 75cfm 120mm ..................................................................Rs 500
Total:..................................................................................... Rs 100,200
Note: All prices mentioned are courtesy deltapage.com, theitwares.com and primeabgb.com. The prices are
quoted in INR and would vary depending on dealer discounts and product availability.
there are no overclocking software
for CPUs, while there are a bunch of
overclocking utilities for GPUs. The
NVIDIA Control Panel does allow
you to increase the memory and core
speeds, while the AMD Overdrive is
stagnating with no GUI on top. The
lack of proper voltage and temperature
measuring utilities is getting to be a sore
point. Even with LM_Sensors and many
other sensors, temperature monitoring
isn't as precise as it should be.
Nonetheless, the benchmarking
scenario is improving and will
continue to do so since there is a
sudden shift towards Linux. Stay
tuned. By: Shashwat Pant
The author is a FOSS enthusiast
interested in QT programming and
technology. He is fond of reviewing the
latest OSS tools and distros.
www.LinuxForU.com | LINUX For You | NOVEMBER 2009 | 61